Appling County authorizes county-owned emergency app; first-year build quoted at $16,609.85

The Appling County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously July 8 to authorize development and implementation of a county-owned emergency communications mobile app designed to push alerts for storms, road closures, shelter locations and school closings.

County Manager Reid Lovett said the app—designed to function similarly to Code Red—would be county-owned, free for residents to download, and allow recipients to opt out of individualized alerts. Lovett said he and Emergency Management Agency staff have met with developers and that he is "currently seeking reimbursement from Southern Nuclear for annual costs incurred by the County, in regards to the App." He provided the vendor quote: "$16,609.85 for the first year and an annual cost of $7,608.35 for a three (3) year commitment." Commissioners approved the purchase costs and authorized proceeding with development and implementation.

Lovett said the app will include notifications from the county and partner municipalities (City of Baxley, Surrency and Graham) and links to partner websites for items such as school closings, road work, shelter information, power outages and tourism events. He said processes will be in place to control which users or agencies are allowed to submit and push specific notifications.

The board did not provide a detailed funding source at the meeting beyond the vendor quote and the manager’s statement that the county is seeking reimbursement from Southern Nuclear; the ongoing annual cost was noted as part of a three-year commitment. The manager also said personal identification information would not be tied to the app.

The county hopes to implement the app by September for weather, emergency and road-closure alerts.

Next steps include vendor contracting and administrative setup to define who can issue alerts and how partner jurisdictions will be integrated.